10
Top-Paying Careers
continue to grow as people become more comfortable seeking
occupation
Average Entry-Level Experienced
Wage Wage Wage professional help for mental health problems. Employers are also
sales manager $44.80 $21.81 $56.29
offering more employee assistance programs for mental health and
financial manager $43.06 $23.95 $52.62
substance abuse. The need for child-care workers expands as fast
as population growth, and the demand for dietitians is expected
personal financial advisor $39.24 $16.02 $50.85
to grow faster than average because of the increasing emphasis on
clinical, counseling, and school psychologist $25.63 $16.96 $29.97
preventing disease with better diet and healthy lifestyles.
marriage and family Therapist $25.35 $14.85 $30.60
sales representative, wholesale and
A variety of skills
manufacturing, except Technical products
$25.00 $12.50 $31.25
If students choose to pursue a career in Human Services, they will
dietitian/nutritionist $22.01 $16.07 $24.99
need a variety of skills. Helping people requires empathy and the
medical and public Health social worker $19.19 $13.40 $22.09
ability to work with people.
clergy $18.18 $11.92 $21.31
There’s a whole lot more to Human Services than people
skills, however. Strong leadership and organizational abilities are
mental Health counselor $17.78 $13.02 $20.16
important for entrepreneurs, who make up about a third of the
This is a chart of hourly wages for 10 of the top-paying careers in the Human Services cluster in Texas.
Human Services cluster. In fields such as retail merchandising,
Note how entry-level wages are often much lower than pay for the average worker and experienced
workers in each profession. Source: Texas Workforce Commission. employees must be good at math and able to calculate and monitor
the profit margin.
Endless growth Opportunities
“There’s a sense of personal fulfillment in helping make people’s
lives better. All these areas do that,” says Wragg. “These are all jobs
One of the best things about Human Services is that it’s an endlessly
with good potential. Given that people now change their careers
growing field. Most people’s everyday stress is at an all-time high,
several times in their lifetime, it makes sense to be in a field with
and jobs that relieve that stress, such as massage therapy and
flexibility and options. Employees improve people’s lives, and fulfill
personal training, are keeping pace. Specialty services such as
their own career goals. That’s exciting.”
personal shopping give clients a way to spend their increasingly
precious time on activities they really enjoy.
“So many jobs are being outsourced now, but what can’t be
outsourced is that basic human contact. That’s why the job growth
is so good,” says Wragg. “And with our aging baby boomers, career
opportunities in services for adults will increase. It’s not just about
frail, elderly people, but about providing services for active, older
adults with increasing life spans.”
Financial planning, for example, is growing faster than other
fields because of the increasing focus on personal retirement plans,
rather than just Social Security. The field of counseling will also
Q
is human services the right cluster for you? Take this quiz to find out.
U
Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions.
I
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Z
Are you friendly? do you like to Have you ever do you like Are you good do you have good do you find Are you able Are you reliable? do you like doing
work in groups? volunteered for helping other at organizing communication it easy to to work out things for others?
service work in people learn activities? skills? sympathize with disagreements
your community? new skills? others? among your
friends?
If you answered “yes” to five or more of the above questions, Human Services may be the right cluster for you. To get a more specific and scientific
measurement of your attitudes and abilities, ask your guidance counselor or teacher about taking a career assessment test or interest inventory.
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